POCOMOKE CITY – Never count out a team named the Warriors with an inside game and a veteran coach.

Despite being a young squad, like many others in the Bayside South, the Pocomoke girls basketball team has some things going for it.

Led by two of the most experienced seniors in the conference, forwards Ashley McCready and Wynesha Brittingham, the Warriors (6-3) have overcome many of the issues that have plagued other youthful teams.

“The seniors, when they came in as freshmen, we were really tough,” Warriors’ head coach Gail Gladding said. “That next year, when they became sophomores, we graduated everyone off but them.”

Now seniors, with no juniors, McCready and Brittingham went from “pretty good,” Gladding modestly said, to “pretty bad” after winning only six games their sophomore year.

It set the foundation of a work ethic for them, and they started to understand how important that was, Gladding said.

The 23-year head coach said Brittingham is the do-it-all post player who provides the points for the team. On the other hand, McCready leads the squad on the opposite end with her defensive intensity.

“We tell them all the time, nobody lays down when Pocomoke comes to town,” Gladding said. “Everyone wants to play their best. Everyone wants to beat you. You have to play hard.”

But as much as Brittingham may dominate the post or steal the deep pass when the Warriors press, or the times McCready can light the fire at the defensive end, this is still a team-oriented style of play.

And the seniors have stepped into the role of bringing along the younger players.

“You can’t be scared,” Brittingham said. “If it’s a big person, you can’t (let them) determine whether you can go in or out. You just have to go in and go harder.”

That is the message the senior center has passed along to freshman D’nasia Jones and sophomore Dynaisha Christian. The trio has combined to dominate paint points in most of Pocomoke’s games this season.

When the opponents start tightening up the inside, Gladding said her perimeter girls have the shots to keep defenses honest.

That being said, she wishes guards like Tymera Deshields would be more confident in their attributes. Gladding said Deshields has a great floater and 3-pointer, but doesn’t take advantage of them enough.

But does this Pocomoke side have what it takes to make it across the bridge? Gladding is not quite sure.

“It’s hard — those Baltimore teams are tough,” Gladding said. “We’ve won it one time, and we’ve been up there a mess of times. It all has to fall right.”

The Warriors do know they will have to beat Mardela if they want to get there. In the first meeting, Pocomoke lost by nine away, but were leading by one at the half and were down by three with 2:30 to go.

Brittingham said her team lost the momentum and flow of the game. Gladding said they ran out of gas.

“I think we have the ability to do it,” Brttingham said. “We almost beat them before, but we slowed down a bit. But I think that this time because it’s at home, and we have our own crowd — we’ll keep the momentum of the game the whole time.”

Warriors’ head coach Kesha Cook said after their win at Parkside on Jan. 7, the next Pocomoke game will be tooth and nail. And her whole team knows it.

Gladding is more focused on the fundamentals of this young team, however.

She said simply throwing a chest pass or lifting the chin for a head fake makes the biggest difference. Little “rainbow” passes don’t work, especially when you go up against the better teams.